Forget Me Not
by eriknachtmusik
Summary: They had been friends for as long as they could remember. Nothing had ever separated them- till the night Zechs tried to kill them. Miraculously, they both survived, but Muller has forgotten Alex and everything he ever stood for. Non yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

It was over in an instant. Muller screamed as Zechs brought his beam saber down on the Aries, splitting it in two. The explosion threw him out of his mobile suit, sending him flying across the cliff. Then everything went blank.

Muller's scream rang in Alex's ears. In a blind rage, Alex attacked Zechs, forcing him into the water. He fired on the Tallgeese, letting out his anger at Muller's death. "Say your prayers, Merquise," he snarled. The Tallgeese disappeared in a blue haze. Alex scanned the water for the remains of the mobile suit. Nothing was there. "Where'd he go?" he wondered. He swung the Cancer around to look for Zechs.

Suddenly the Tallgeese gripped the Cancer's gun arms. In one swift jerk, Zechs tore the suit apart. Alex cut through his seat restraints before the Cancer blew up.

The water was freezing. Alex gasped as he hit it, letting a flood of water into his mouth. His lungs spasmed and he struggled to get air. Why hadn't he learned how to swim? _I guess I'll be seeing you sooner than I thought, Blue, _he said to himself. He smiled grimly before he passed out, sinking to the bottom.

Sally studied the remains of the Alliance base in dismay. Bodies lay strewn throughout the rubble, some of them young men who had just graduated from the academy, excited and eager to make a name for themselves. One of them was holding a white flag. _Massacre_, she thought bitterly.

Angry and sick to her stomach, she stormed away from the base and down the cliffside. Why was OZ doing this? In her fury she strode forward quickly, not really watching or caring where she was headed. Something rolled under her feet. She bent down and picked it up. It was a pair of OZ mobile-suit pilot goggles. Whoever had bombarded the base must have left them by mistake. On the strap was written, in large black letters, the name **MULLER**. She slid the goggles into her pocket, hoping she'd meet this Muller later so he could ram them down his throat.

She kept walking, going steadily downwards toward the beach. When she reached the lower ledges, she stopped. A boy (at least she thought it was a boy) was lying facedown across the path, apparently unconscious. Seagulls were swarming around him, pecking at his OZ uniform and squalling and screeching.

Sally fired her pistol into the air, frightening them off. She hated gulls. Filthy, scavenging birds. After making sure that they were gone, she started towards the boy, uncertain whether she would like what she found.

**Please review. Thanks to for their screencaps which allowed me to write the first part.**


	2. Chapter 2

Alex's eyes fluttered open slowly. _I'm alive,_ he thought as he looked around. He was lying in a bed with blankets piled on top of him. Situated near the fireplace, it was the most comfortable bed he'd ever been in, especially when compared to the bunk that he and Muller shared back at the base...

He snapped upright. Where was Muller? Pushing aside the covers, he jumped to his feet. Then, standing there, he remembered. Muller was dead. Deflated, he sank back down, Muller's last scream echoing in his head: "Alllleeeexxxx!" _Why couldn't I have protected him? That's what I was there for! _ He buried his head in his hands. The door opened and an old man in a t-shirt and cutoffs sat down next to him.

"You're finally up," he said.

Alex looked up at him. "Who are you?" he asked abruptly.

"Considering that you're a stranger in my house, I think you should be a bit more polite," the man said. " However, Alex, you may call me Howard."

"How did you know my name?"

"It was written on your goggles," Howard said with a chuckle. He passed the goggles to Alex. Alex stared at the writing on the strap, neat and straight. He and Muller had written each other's names on their goggle straps, an OZ tradition for partners. He shoved the goggles into his jacket, which was hanging on a nearby chair, and stood up.

"Are you alright, son?" Howard asked.

Alex nodded numbly. " I need to go outside," he said. He slammed the door behind him and strode out onto the dock, where he took a deep breath of fresh air.

"Hey," a boy with a long braid called up to him. " It's about time. I could have used your help down here!"

Alex blinked. "What?" he said, puzzled.

"You're the new guy, aren't you?" the boy yelled back, his hands on his hips. "Howard's not paying you to stand around. Get busy!"

Alex climbed over the edge of the railing, lowering himself down in front of the boy. "And just who might you be?"

The boy grinned cheekily at him. "The one and only Duo Maxwell, mechanic and just about everything else anyone needs. Who are you?"

"Alex Dekker. Mobile Suit pilot."

"Alliance?" Duo asked hopefully.

"OZ."

Duo's face fell. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."

"You have a problem with OZ?" Alex asked, an edge creeping into his voice.

"I kinda find it hard to like anyone that trains people to be butchers. Like that jerk in the Aries who destroyed the Alliance base."

Alex scowled angrily at Duo. If Duo were smart, he would have shut up at that moment, but having a reputation as a baka, he chose to keep talking.

"I wish they killed the guy. One less of those... hey!"

Alex grabbed Duo by his shirt and slammed him up against the wall.

"Listen closely, _punk_," he hissed at Duo. "That 'jerk in the Aries' was my best friend. Do you know what happened to him? His suit exploded. He died." His voice dropped to a whisper. "And I couldn't save him." He let Duo slide to the ground.

"Man," Duo said softly. "I'm sorry." He put a hand on Alex's shoulder. "I know."


End file.
